Freight car



W. L. MORRISON Jan. l,l 1963 FREIGHT CAR 4 SheetsSheet 2:

Filed July 6, 19,59

gy mrxfenerf@ Arm/wxs' Jan. 1, 1963 w. L. MoRRlsoN FREIGHT CAR Filed July e, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 1., 1963 w. L. MORRISON 3,071,084

FREIGHT CAR Filed July 6, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent O 3,071,084 FREIGHT CAR Willard L. Morrison, Lake Forest, Ill., assigner to Liquefreeze Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 6, 1959, Ser. No. 825,154 5 Claims. (Cl. 10S-366) This invention relates to improvements in freight cars and shipper containers carried thereby, and has for one object to provide a freight car and portable shipper container combination wherein `a multiplicity of portable shipper containers may be carried by `a single, flat railroad car and may be separately and independently locked in place thereon.

Another object is to provide an arrangement wherein each container may be separately and independently unlocked and removed from the car.

This invention is especially useful in connection with insulated shipper containers of relatively small size. Such shipper containers are intended for the shipment of frozen food which at the point of origin is frozen, preferably in the container, to temperatures far below zero degrees F., temperatures so low that no further refrigeration is needed until the shipper container reaches its destination. This makes it very Vimportant that the container in transit be not subjected to any dangerous stresses which might break down the insulation. Therefore, one object of this invention is to provide a support on the railroad freight car such that the shipper container will not be damaged by any of the shocks or blows resulting from railroad freight shipment.

Such frozen food should be handled in separate units from origin to destination. For instance, if a chain store in New York is to receive a shipper container lled with frozen food from California, it is highly desirable that the container be not opened, after the low shipping ternperatures are obtained, until destination is reached. The destination may well 4be the dock of the chain store rather than some -warehouse in the railroad yard.

It is desirable that a small shipper container holding perhaps six tons of frozen food be the unit, six tons being less than carload lot pays a relatively high freight rate. The need, therefore, is to ship this frozen food under circumstances such that the LCL higher rate will not be charged.

If, for example, a freight car is organized so that ten six-ton containers may be locked in place for unit shipment, then the car carries sixty tons and the lower freight rate is paid.

Since each shipper container is separately locked in position, independent of all the others any one or more may be removed without replacement and still the remaining shipper containers will be safely carried, locked in position.

These shipper containers will be preferably rectangular and for example will be eight feet long, six feet wide and six feet high with a door at each end and will extend across the freight car with a door at each side of the car. Ten of them can be supported on a single sixty foot long freight car.

Each container will be provided with skids at the bottom, preferably extending the entire length thereof. Carried on the floor of the car will be a plurality of pairs of channel tracks extending across the car, there being one for each skid of each container, the tracks being open at both ends and spaced somewhat above the iloor of the car. Thus the shipper container can slide cross-wise of the car along the tracks in either direction for loading or unloading of the container on the car and the interengagement of the skid and the track across the bottom of the Fice container inhibits movement of the container along the car.

The track and skids are so positioned that when the container is in place, there is clearance between adjacent containers. That clearance is -iilled at the top by a buffer member which extends for the full length of the container and is supported by cross struts pivoted at their lower ends on the car and at their upper ends on the buffer. Since there is a buffer between each pair of containers, struts associated with each of the two adjacent containers are anchored on the buffer bar and these struts extending diagonally across the ends of the containers in opposite directions not only hold the buffer bar in place but lock the containers against movement across the railroad car and support the tops of the containers Iagainst 'longitudinal displacement, thus furnishing locking means to protect the container structure against undue stresses.

The struts on one side may lbe rotated to open the door so that the container may be loaded or unloaded on the car or if desired, with the struts on one side out of the way, the container itself may be removed from the oar laterally across the car axis.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a railroad car showing one container open about to be loaded;

FIGURE 2 is a detail side elevation of a plurality of shipper containers on the freight car;

FIGURE 3 is a detail part plan view of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a detail plan view of a section of a freight car with the container about to be removed to a truck;

FIGURE 6` is a detail similar to FIGURE 5 showing the container about to be returned from a truck to a freight car;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view showing the container about to be moved from a truck to a loading dock;

FIGURE 8 is a similar view showing the container about to be returned from the loading dock to a truck;

FIGURE 9 is a detail perspective showing the apparatus for chilling the contents of the container.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specication and drawings.

The railroad flat car ll carries a plurality of insulated shipper containers 2r. They are just long enough to fit on the flat car and when arranged side by side lill the entire effective `door area or bed of the car. Each shipper container has at opposite ends insulated door 3, which may be opened and closed and locked in the usual manner, the details forming no part of the invention being not illustrated. Each shipper container is ported in a plurality-in this case preferably 5--spaced` points, the ports being closed by movable caps 4. These ports furnish access to the insulated storage chamber in the shipper container. The conveyor 5 movable along the loading platform 6 brings packages of frozen food 7 from any suitable food freezing plant and discharges them at the opening of the container so that they can be packed in the container by the workmen who only handle the `frozen food packages for the very short time between their discharge from the conveyor and their entry into the shipper container.

When the shipper container has been lled with frozen food and the door has been closed, the hood 3 will be placed over the shipper container, being thus in register with the entire top thereof. Liquid nitrogen will be supplied from any suitable source through the duct 9 to the manifold 10 which is in register with all ive of the ports and liquid nitrogen will be poured into the shipper container in direct contact with the food.

This liquid nitrogen will be at substantially atmospheric pressure at a temperature in the order of 320 degrees F. and so it will be caused to boil by the relatively warm frozen food, will evaporate and the resultant gas will rush rapidly out into the hood 8 and be carried away through the gas discharge pipe 11 to a suitable reliquefaction plant which reliquefies the nitrogen for return through the duct 9. The gas will be drawn out through the duct 11 at a high rate of speed and as a result it will leave the shipper container having given up in the main only latent heat so that it returns to the liquefier at a low temperature and can be easily reliquefied.

The conveyor and the hood S may be moved along the track if desired or the railroad car may be moved along the track to register with these elements, depending on the circumstances.

All the shipper containers are the same and are interchangeable. Each shipper container has on its bottom parallel skids 12. These skids are received in channel tracks 13, on the iloor of the car so that the bottom of the shipper container is raised above the floor of the car. These channel tracks are open at both ends and when the container is in place on the car, the interlocking of the skid and track inhibits movement of the container longitudinally of the car.

Each container is held against movement transversely of the car by a pair of cross braces which cross braces also bar the door in additional to the usual door lock. Anchor blocks 14 are located on either Side of the car between each adjacent pair of channel tracks. The anchor blocks are of such dimensions that they t into the space between adjacent containers and do not in any Way interfere with their movement -as will hereinafter appear, across the car. Each anchor block has pivoted on it two of the cross bars or brace members 15, 16. Each of these cross bars is hinged at 17. The pivot of the cross bars 15, 16 on the anchor blocks 14 is such as to resist longitudinal movement while permitting lfree pivotal movement. When the cross bars are in the position shown with respect to all but one of the containers in FIGURE 1, they are bolted together where they intersect as at 18. Each one is also bolted to a buffer or cross member 19, at 20, and the two cross bars 15, 16 support the buffer between the two adjacent containers at the top.

These interlocking bolted together cross bars thus form a bridge structure holding the shipper `containers in place on the freight car and inhibit movement of the upper portions of the shipper containers, the shipper container being thus anchored at the top by the buffers and the cross bars.

At each end of the car are end anchor `blocks 21 and above them are end buffer bars or terminal cross members 22. The anchor bars 21 carry only -a single cross bar 15 and the end buffer 22 is supported by a single cross bar 16.

Ignoring for the moment the open door shown in FIGURE 1, if we assume that the door is closed and the cross bars are in position, then the freight car moves along the track as a complete tightly held together unit which can take carload rates because all the containers with their contents make a full carload.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2, when it is desired to load a shipper container, the cross bars 15, 16 of that single shipper container will be moved outwardly at their upper ends to free them `from their bolted relationship to the buffer 19, this being permitted by the hinge 17. The cross bar 15 will rotate counter-clockwise and the cross bar 16 clockwise into upright position and be held in by pin 23a in the yoke 23 on the buffer 19. That clears the shipper container and leaves it `free to be moved across the car, the buffer 19 being supported -by the bars 15, 16 respectively in front of the containers on both sides of the free container. The

door 3 can then be opened and the container can be filled. When filled, the cross bars 15 and 16 are brought back into position across the door and across the end of the container and it is ready for shipment.

When the at car reaches destination, it is spotted on the side track and the truck 24 is backed up to the freight car. Portable channel bridge tracks 25 are socketed at their opposite ends respectively on the car and on the rear end of the truck platform Z6. Cables 27 are hooked onto the rings 2S at the ends of the skids 12 and the winch 29 is operated to pull the container toward the truck from the channel tracks 13 on the car along the tracks 25 onto the truck platform, the bridge tracks 25 furnishing the pressure connection so that the tension on the cables Z7 will not tend to cause displacement of truck or car. The bridge tracks are carried on the truck and they make it unnecessary to spot the truck with micrometric accuracy. As long as the truck cornes fairly near to alignment and fairly near to proper position, the bridge tracks insure smooth movement of the container from the car to the truck. Once the container is on the car, the cables can be disconnected from the hooks on the forward side, the bridge tracks may be put back on the truck and the truck can then take the container to its destination which may, for example, be the loading dock 30 of the chain store grocery shown in FIGURE 7. The cable 27 will be led from the winch along the floor of the truck to pass around portable sheaves 31 which may be removably socketed in the loading dock 34) back to the rings 28 as shown in FIGURE 7. Then the winch 29 will be operated to draw the container along the bridge tracks 25 between the truck and the loading dock into place on the loading dock. When this has occurred, the cables will be unhooked from the container, the sheaves 31 will be moved into register with an empty container, the truck will be moved into line therewith and will as shown in FIGURE 5 draw the empty container along the bridge tracks into place on the truck. The truck then returns to the railroad yard and as shown in FIGURE 6, the portable sheaves are socketed on the car, the container is pulled back in position for return to the freezing source.

The use and operation of this invention are as follows:

The flat car having ten of the shipper containers, each separately, independently anchored in place on the car, is moved to the loading dock of a food freezing plant. The struts supporting one or more of the shipping containers are released and the door of the container is opened, preferably with the container right on the car. A conveyor brings the frozen food from the plant to the container and the food is packed therein. The door is then closed and the anchoring or locking struts are put back in place. Then the caps closing lling openings in the top of the container are removed. The cooling hood is spotted over the container and liquid nitrogen is run through the various nozzles in register with the various openings until the desired quantity of liquid nitrogen has been inserted, the nitrogen meanwhile evaporating and coming out through the openings as gas into the hoo-d where it is withdrawn for reliquefaction.

Since the temperature at which the food was placed in the container is known, the character and weight of the food is known and the distance to which it is to be traveled is known, it is a simple, mathematical equation knowing the K factor of the insulation to determine how many liters of nitrogen must be evaporated to give the desired low temperature. When the proper amount of nitrogen has been evaporated, nitrogen feed stops, the hood is removed, the cooling ports are closed and the container is ready for shipment.

This process takes place with respect to every one of the containers on the car. When the car is completely laden, it is ready for movement in interstate commerce at the lowest rates for bulk shipment of the particular type of material being handled.

When the car reaches its destination, it is spotted 0n a side track. A truck backs up to the side of the car in approximate alignment with the container to be removed. The locking struts are moved out of register with the container, portable tracks supported at one end on the freight car, at the other end on the truck platform are put in place in alignment with the tracks on the car. Cables are attached to the container and the winch on the truck hauls on the cables to slide the container along the portable tracks from the xed tracks on the car to the platform of the truck.

The portable tracks are part of the truck equipment, they are always available when the truck is to be used to unload the containers from the freight car. Since the ends of the portable tracks bridge the gap between the freight car and the truck it is not essential that positive alignment occur. Approximate alignment is suflicient to permit the container to move from the freight car to the truck or vice versa.

When the container is on the truck, the portable tracks are put back on the truck and carried away by the truck with the container.

When the truck reaches the grocers dock, it backs up and the same portable tracks are put in place between the dock and the truck. The cable or cables on the winch are passed beneath the container through the clearance defined by the skids, pass over portable sheaves on the inboard side of the dock and are brought back to couple on the container, when the winch pulls the container onto the dock and leaves it there to serve as a cold storage receptacle until the contents of the container has been used.

Meanwhile, the truck having been moved into alignment with an empty container, the reverse occurs and the winch pulls the empty container onto the truck, the truck then returning to the railroad yard backing up in line with a vacant place on the freight car. The portable tracks are put in place, the cable is passed under the container around sheaves removably mounted on the opposite side of the car and the winch then hauls the empty container onto the car to fill the vacant space after which the struts are put in place and the container is ready for its return trip to a freezing plant. Meanwhile, of course, the sheaves which can be removably attached to the car are removed and put back on the truck so that the truck wherever it is is provided with all the equipment necessary to load and unload at railroad car or dock and to transport the container between the two.

I claim:

1. A wheeled vehicle especially adapted for transportation of a plurality of material containers each of which extends along only a minor portion of the length of the wheeled vehicle, `said wheeled vehicle including in combination,

a bed and wheels secured thereto,

a plurality of pairs of brace members pivotally connected at their lower portions to the vehicle bed,

the pivot points of each pair of brace members being spaced one from the other along the vehicle bed,

ysaid pivot points being located substantially at the edge of the vehicle' bed and being constructed and arranged to enable the brace members to swing in a plane generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle,

the upper end of each brace member being releasably secured to and supporting a cross member when in operative condition, there being at least one cross member intermediate the ends of the Wheeled vehicle,

a pair of terminal cross members, one for each end of the vehicle bed, each of said terminal members being spaced substantially directly above an end of the vehicle bed and constructed and arranged for connection to the free end of an associated brace member,

each of said intermediate cross members having releasably secured thereto the upper ends of two brace members, each of said brace members being pivotable from a rst position in which it is connected to a cross member and spans the distance between adjacent pivot points to a second, substantially vertically position to thereby provide unobstructed access to the space between said pairs of pivot points, the brace members in each pair of brace members crossing one another when in said first position,

means for securing crossing brace members to one another to thereby prevent collapse of the brace members when in said first position, and to support the terminal and intermediate cross members above the vehicle bed,

and means for supporting the opposite ends of the cross member,

said means for supporting the opposite ends of the cross members being a similar arrangement of brace and cross members,

each pair of pivotable brace members being located substantially directly opposite a corresponding pair of brace members on the opposite side of the vehicle bed to thereby provide unobstructed, lateral access to the space between adjacent pivot points when the brace members in opposite pairs of brace members are all in their second, substantially vertical position.

2. The wheeled vehicle of claim l further including first guide members carried by the vehicle bed, said first guide members being positioned substantially laterally of the vehicle bed and cooperable with second guide members carried by containers to be transported, said first guide members being constructed and arranged to enable a container to be moved laterally across the vehicle bed along a straight path and being effective, when in engagement with second guide members, to prevent substantial longitudinal displacement of the containers.

3. The wheeled vehicle of claim 2 further characterized in that the lirst and second guide members are tracks and skids.

4. The wheeled vehicle of claim 1 further characterized in that the width of the cross members in a longitudinal direction of the wheeled vehicle is substantially equal to the distance between adjacent containers whereby the containers, when in position on the vehicle bed, and cross members form a substantially unitary structure from end to end of the vehicle bed.

5. 'Ihe wheeled vehicle of claim 1 further including abutment members extending upwardly from the vehicle bed between adjacent containers, the width of the abutment members in a longitudinal direction of the wheeled vehicle being substantially equal to the distance between adjacent containers whereby the containers, when in position on the vehicle bed, and abutment members form a substantially unitary structure from end to end of the vehicle bed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 832,493 Mebane Oct. 2, 1906 1,188,996 Richardson June 27, 1916 2,126,764 Fitch Aug. 16, 1938 2,166,948 Fitch July 25, 1939 2,337,131 Schroeder et Ial Dec. 2l, 1943 2,416,071 Shonnard Feb. 18, 1947 2,691,450 Rosenbaum Oct. 12, 1954 2,775,355 Leitner et al Dec. 25, 1956 2,894,373 Morrison July 14, 1959 2,919,661 Caputo et al. Jan. 5, 1960 

1. A WHEELED VEHICLE ESPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR TRANSPORTATION OF A PLURALITY OF MATERIAL CONTAINERS EACH OF WHICH EXTENDS ALONG ONLY A MINOR PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF THE WHEELED VEHICLE, SAID WHEELED VEHICLE INCLUDING IN COMBINATION, A BED AND WHEELS SECURED THERETO, A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF BRACE MEMBERS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT THEIR LOWER PORTIONS TO THE VEHICLE BED, THE PIVOT POINTS OF EACH PAIR OF BRACE MEMBERS BEING SPACED ONE FROM THE OTHER ALONG THE VEHICLE BED, SAID PIVOT POINTS BEING LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE EDGE OF THE VEHICLE BED AND BEING CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO ENABLE THE BRACE MEMBERS TO SWING IN A PLANE GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE VEHICLE, THE UPPER END OF EACH BRACE MEMBER BEING RELEASABLY SECURED TO AND SUPPORTING A CROSS MEMBER WHEN IN OPERATIVE CONDITION, THERE BEING AT LEAST ONE CROSS MEMBER INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF THE WHEELED VEHICLE, A PAIR OF TERMINAL CROSS MEMBERS, ONE FOR EACH END OF THE VEHICLE BED, EACH OF SAID TERMINAL MEMBERS BEING SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY DIRECTLY ABOVE AN END OF THE VEHICLE BED AND CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED FOR CONNECTION TO THE FREE END OF AN ASSOCIATED BRACE MEMBER, EACH OF SAID INTERMEDIATE CROSS MEMBERS HAVING RELEASABLY SECURED THERETO THE UPPER END OF TWO BRACE MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID BRACE MEMBERS BEING PIVOTABLE FROM A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH IT IS CONNECTED TO A CROSS MEMBER AND SPANS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN ADJACENT PIVOT POINTS TO A SECOND, SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY POSITION TO THEREBY PROVIDE UNOBSTRUCTED ACCESS TO THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID PAIRS OF PIVOT POINTS, THE BRACE MEMBERS IN EACH PAIR OF BRACE MEMBERS CROSSING ONE ANOTHER WHEN IN SAID FIRST POSITION, MEANS FOR SECURING CROSSING BRACE MEMBERS TO ONE ANOTHER TO THEREBY PREVENT COLLAPSE OF THE BRACE MEMBERS WHEN IN SAID FIRST POSITION, AND TO SUPPORT THE TERMINAL AND INTERMEDIATE CROSS MEMBERS ABOVE THE VEHICLE BED, AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE CROSS MEMBER, SAID MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE CROSS MEMBERS BEING A SIMILAR ARRANGEMENT OF BRACE AND CROSS MEMBERS, EACH PAIR OF PIVOTABLE BRACE MEMBERS BEING LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY DIRECTLY OPPOSITE A CORRESPONDING PAIR OF BRACE MEMBERS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE BED TO THEREBY PROVIDE UNOBSTRUCTED, LATERAL ACCESS TO THE SPACE BETWEEN ADJACENT PIVOT POINTS WHEN THE BRACE MEMBERS IN OPPOSITE PAIRS OF BRACE MEMBERS ARE ALL IN THEIR SECOND, SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL POSITION. 